The Five Times That Liz Sherman Almost Kissed Hellboy
by Soph E. C
Summary: ...And The One Time That She Did. Liz loved Hellboy. She just wouldn't admit it.
1. When Liz Left

"Abe?"

The Icthyo Sapien turned away from his four books at the familiar voice.

"Liz?" The fish humanoid swam up to the glass of his tank, so as to float in front of the woman. He placed his hands on the glass, head tilted slightly in confusion, "Is everything alright?"

"I...I'm leaving, Abe," Liz choked on her words, holding back a sob. Abe's expression softened, but he wasn't too surprised; the pyrotechnic had left three times in the last year alone- altogether, this would be the 11th time.

"What has suddenly brought this on, Elizabeth? You haven't had an outburst in months!"

Liz knew Abe was saddened by her departure: he only ever used 'Elizabeth' when he was upset, or disappointed, or both.

"I...I can't stay here, Abe... every time we have a mission, every time we leave the bureau, I... I see what normal people look like; I see what normal women look like... I want to be like that, Abe. I want to be a normal twenty-one year old, with no strings attached! I want to have a normal life, a normal job! No secrets, or agents, or stupid FBI bases! I want to be able to go out whenever I want, with my normal friends, friends that don't eat rotten eggs, or have to wear a breathing apparatus and a pair of goggles when they are on land! Friends that aren't red skinned, or friends that don't file down their horns, friends that don't have stone hands, friends that aren't-,"

"Liz" Abe cut her off calmly, "I understand. Friends that aren't freaks; friends that aren't us,"

Liz gasped slightly, "Oh, Abe, I... I didn't mean it like that," she moved her eyes to the floor, ashamed of what she had just implied.

"It is quite understandable, Elizabeth. Red and I, we aren't human, we don't even look human. We don't fit. But you could, and," He took a deep breath- it pained him to have to be so understanding of one of his closest friend's reasons to leave, especially when they almost always seemed to concern Red and himself, "I understand,"

Liz closed her eyes, a tear dripping down her porcelain cheek, and released a long sigh "Thank you, Abe" She looked back up to him, eyes watery, "You always do,"

Abe smiled weakly at her- well, as much as he could smile, his mouth didn't exactly possess the right muscles to actually _smile_. But there was something a little bit... off. Sure, she wanted to be normal, but usually there had to be an outburst of her losing control to trigger her to quit the BPRD again. There was more to Liz leaving again; he could sense it... but what, he wasn't sure.

Liz smiled sadly back, but it didn't reach her eyes.

What she had told Abe wasn't exactly a lie; it _was_ true, just not the _entire_ truth. She didn't want to tell Abe about what she was... _feeling_. Especially since those feelings concerned Hellboy.

She didn't want to tell him how, since she had returned to the BPRD (around three or four months ago), she had been seeing Red in a, ah, _different light_. She didn't want to tell Abe, for example, that every time she saw him, her heart skipped a beat. Or that, on their late night horror marathons, Liz could never stay focused on the movie anymore- her mind was always drifting to how his left arm felt draped lazily across her shoulders, how his fingers lightly brushed the skin of her upper arm, how she seemed to fit perfectly into his side (as if she was _meant_ to be there), or how he sent shivers up her spine with the lightest touch of his tail against her thigh.

She didn't want to tell Abe how he sent confused little butterflies free in her stomach every time he gave her that smile, that smile that he reserved _just_ for her. She didn't want to tell Abe how she couldn't get Hellboy off of her mind. She just hoped to God that leaving would subdue the feelings, the confusing, goddamned feelings, and that, if she ever came back, she would be able to go about her business with Red _without_ wanting to pull him down to her by the collar and kiss him senseless.

No, she didn't want to tell Abe how Hellboy made her feel, and she wasn't going to.

"Are...are you leaving now, Liz?" Abe asked slowly, after a moment's silence.

She nodded solemnly, "I've called for a cab to pick me up a few miles down, Clay's taking me that far,"

"What did Red say?"

Liz flinched visibly, and the merman drew in a sharp breath-

"You haven't told him?!"

"I- I don't want to hurt him..."

"And you think that leaving in the middle of the night without a word won't? Imagine how he'll feel tomorrow morning, when he wakes up and can't find you anywhere, you think that won't hurt him?" Abe had raised his voice a little, hoping that it would help get his point across. A few more tears escaped Liz's eyes, and she looked back to the floor, placing her hands against the same spot Abe's were on the other side of the glass.

She forgot about his 'unique' frontal lobe.

Abe saw everything; _movie nights- red hands on white shoulders, her wondering mind, the shivers, the butterflies. Smiles, heartbeats, brushing fingertips, objects being passed with lingering hands that held on for a little too long. Her confusion, her sadness, her guilt. She thought leaving would help. She thought leaving would help!_

Abe's eyes widened, his brow bone skyrocketing upwards in surprise, "Liz! You're in _love_ with him!"

Liz pulled away from the glass fast, taking a good five steps back, "No I'm not," She insisted casually.

"Yes, you _are_ ," He had to get across to her that Hellboy loved her too, that leaving would certainly not help. Liz took a long sigh, looking away from Abe. She smiled thinly, weakly, when she turned back to meet his eyes, her own glistening with tears.

"Goodbye Abe," with that, she strode towards the huge wooden doors to the library.

"Liz, wait!"

But the door had already shut. Abe sighed quietly to himself, shaking his head.

"He loves you more than you could ever know,"

When Liz emerged from her bedroom, clutching her old, worn, brown leather suitcase, she found herself bumping into something hard; Red's chest.

"HB?! I-,"

"You're leaving?" his yellow eyes shone in the darkness, full of despair and sadness and confusion and- hope.

 _Hope that I'll stay..._

"Oh, Red, it's not what you think..." She couldn't meet his eyes, those eyes that were suddenly devoid of all hope, and instead let her own fall to the floor.

"Liz... you were doing so well! I-I don't understand?!" He almost shouted, but then remembered what time it was, and lowered his volume.

"I can't stay here, HB, I just can't,"

"Why? Whatever needs to be changed, I'll change it! You wanna go out more? I'll make it happen! For you, Liz, I'll make it happen! I- I promise... you know I'd do anything for you," his words dripped with sincerity and despair, and hope that he could change her mind. Her heart hurt at his words, and she didn't even realize that she was crying until the salty tears reached her lips. Red instantly stepped forward, wiping the tears from her eyes with his thumb, but Liz pulled backwards. She couldn't stay.

"I'm sorry, Red, I really am," Her voice cracked and she backed away from him, down the corridor, and then all too quickly she found herself outside. Clay sat in the driver's seat of one of the BPRD's sleek black Mercedes SUV. He gave her a sad smile and nod as she opened the door to the passenger seat.

Liz took a deep breath before she climbed in, and chanced a look back up at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence. There, stood in one of the few, thin windows at the very front of the building, was Hellboy. Both hands pressed up against the glass, begging her not to leave with his yellow, yellow eyes.

Her heart broke.

But still Liz climbed into the SUV, eyes clasped shut to try and contain the tears. Hellboy's hands fell from the window in defeat as he watched Liz drive away.

The urge to just kiss him had never been so strong, and she fought with herself not to barrel roll out of the car, run back into the huge stone building and just _kiss_ him. But she couldn't.

Liz had to leave.

 **A/N: Hi! Thank you for the read! This story is going to have six chapters, I think, the first five of which containing the times Liz** ** _almost_** **kisses Red, and the sixth being the time she actually does. I've been meaning to write this for a while, so I really hope you guys like this! Btw I am aware that Abe, Red and Liz are probably super OOC in this chapter, but I think I kinda have them pegged in the others to come...**

 **Tell me what you think! Reviews=LOVE XOXOX**


	2. When Red Brought Beer

"I brought beer,"

Liz pulled her arms closer to her chest, seeking warmth, as she strode uncertainly towards him. Her eyes had never been more interested in her shoes before, but when she did lift her head, Liz's mouth snapped open in a sharp gasp.

"Oh, Red, your arm..." She met his yellow eyes slowly, her sentence trailing off into silence, "You...you better get that looked at,"

"I wanted to see you,"

 _God._

How could one sentence make her feel so many things, all at once?

The expression in those golden orbs said it all. Hellboy's steel gaze held her in place for what seemed like a lifetime. So, he hadn't yet gotten over that painfully obvious crush, if you could call it that.

They sat on a bench, in the courtyard of the Bellamie Psychiatric Hospital. Liz knew where this visit was going... all of Red's 'visits' ended that way.

"We miss you at the Bureau..."

 _Don't say it, Red._

"Abe's crazier every day..."

 _Don't make me say no._

"Father's still mad at me..."

 _Jesus, Red, don't make me say no. Please don't do this again._

Hellboy turned to meet her eyes.

"Come back, Liz," his voice held a sense of desperation, and both of them were afraid that it would crack. Liz found her head starting to shake from side to side before he had even finished his sentence.

"Come back,"

 _You know I can't, Red..._

"No, no, HB..." She found herself breaking under his heavy gaze, and her eyes slid to the floor, "No, not this time,"

She saw his face drop, just a little, out of the corner of her deep brown eyes, and she felt her heart break, just a little. A wave of guilt crashed through her, and Liz felt a sudden need to justify her choice.

"I don't like it here..."

 _Breathe, Liz, breathe._

"But... I haven't had an episode in months. And you know what?" a blue flame appeared in her palm. It illuminated both Hellboy and Liz's faces, blue light dancing across their features.

"I'm learning to control it,"

Liz held a cool, calm, collected face and kept her gaze upon the fire in her hand, fully aware of Red's own stare flickering between the flame and her face. Of course, she didn't see herself the way he saw her; dark eyes, long eyelashes, pale lips. Her soft, smooth, white skin- that very same skin that he was terrified of tearing on his stone hand-, black hair fluttering around her face in the slight breeze. The blue shadows cast upon her face. He was going to miss that face...

No, Liz didn't see herself the way Hellboy saw her.

"I'm learning where it comes from," She carried on, "and, for the first time in my life..."

A lump formed in her throat. She swallowed it quickly, forcing herself to look back up at Red.

"I'm not afraid,"

There was a moment of silence, and something, something unidentifiable, passed between them. They stared at each other, both too afraid to look away, and, in that moment, Liz could've let all her doubts go and just kissed him. She could've let all her worries, all her fears, blow away in the wind, and she could've kissed him. She almost did, almost. But the BPRD's cars pulled up, agents suddenly swarming the entrance to Bellamie, and Liz snapped back to reality.

Of course she couldn't kiss Hellboy. If she had kissed him, she would've gone back with him. She would've probably lost control, too. And she knew a... a relationship, just wouldn't last between them. It would've killed the both of them. HB just couldn't know about the crazy thoughts that swam around in her head, in her heart. Urgh; feelings. Not that she had any for Red, other than that of a best friend. A platonic best friend- with _no_ benefits.

"Looks like your ride is here," She lowered her gaze again, pulling her hand into her chest, the flame long gone.

Red rolled his eyes, "The nanny squad..."

Liz stood, and Hellboy looked to the floor.

"Listen, HB..." She rubbed a hand lightly across his shoulder, pretending like she didn't feel the muscles flinch under her touch, "I've got a chance out here. So if you really care about me..."

 _I can't say this._

Red looked up at her expectantly. She hung her head, eyes screwed shut just so he wouldn't see her own pain.

 _I can't say this._

"You won't come back,"

Hellboy dropped his head once more, and she turned quickly on her heel. Liz heard him stand, and increased her pace, afraid he would run after her.

"Yeah... I gotta go too... lots to do," His words were unconvincing, hanging limp, dead, in the air.

And, even though he couldn't see her, Liz shut her eyes delicately at the stinging sensation behind her lids. It did nothing to stop the hot, fat tears from rolling down her face.

She wished she could've kissed him.

 **A/N: Yay! 2 chappies in 2 days! So I actually wrote this before I write the first chapter... and I like this one a lot more than numero uno..**

 **So tell me what you think! Reviews=LOVE XOXOX**


	3. When The Professor Died

Liz sat in the white, padded cell, staring at the wall. She flicked the rubber band on her wrist, once, twice, three times-

Someone opened the door.

"Miss Sherman?" A young man, dark hair, dark eyes, tan skin, crouched beside her, "Agent Myers, FBI,"

-LXH-

They sat in the cab together, like _regular people_. It felt strange, being with someone so... normal.

She took a side glance at him to catch him full on staring, and she smiled. She hadn't smiled in so long. John smiled back, cheeks tinted red. John was nice, normal. John had called her name beautiful, and he had made her smile for the first time in at least six months.

 _Yeah,_ she thought, _John is nice._

 _-_ LXH-

"Welcome back!" The father figure of the BPRD pulled her into an embrace before he had even finished his sentence.

"It's only for the weekend, Professor Bruttenholm," Liz mumbled over his shoulder, secretly relishing in the comforting touch.

The moment of safeness, security, was short-lived, as a huge metal tanker flew through the air into a glass window. Bruttenholm turned sharply at the disturbance, agents pulling out their guns to aim at any opposing threats, and Liz noticed that John stepped a little in front of her. But instead of some huge, terrifying monster, Tom Manning stumbled out of the space that once was a window.

He took a second to collect his bearings, wheezing heavily, before erupting;

"I-I want that thing locked up, starting now. Right now!" Manning shouted, pointing at the professor, just as, surprise, surprise, Hellboy stepped out of the shattered window, "Do you...? Now! You hear me? Locked up!"

Manning started off down the hall, still shouting, and Red stared after him casually.

"Nothing's changed. Home sweet home," Liz muttered under her breath, and, at the sound of her voice, Hellboy's head whipped around in confusion.

"Liz?" His face, his voice, everything about him filled with hope, and she turned to pick up her brown leather suitcase and leave, to find sanctuary in her bedroom. But, obviously, Red wouldn't understand.

"Liz! You did it, Myers! You did it!" She heard his voice, full of happiness and childish excitement, echo down the corridor. God. He never understood.

-LXH-

John came to her room a little while later. He sat on her bed, spoke to her. She told him about her therapy, her rubber bands. And he made her laugh. He didn't fill the air between them with dead words full of unwanted sympathy and awkward _it'll get better_ 's, but instead with bubbles of laughter. Liz liked that. Liz liked John. So, when John asked her if she wanted to go out for coffee, of course she agreed.

Liz decided to go see Red before leaving. She would've visited later, so she could've stayed longer, but there was a tiny voice in the back of her head telling her, _oh, sure, Myers is cool, but wouldn't you rather it be Hellboy who was taking you for coffee?_

Liz hoped that seeing Red would shut that voice up, at least long enough for her to have a nice, _normal_ time with John.

She waltzed into HB's bachelor pad, a wave of nostalgia washing over her. Everywhere she looked was memories. The stack of TVs that they would watch their all-night classic movie marathons on, and the couch where they would watch them from; his arm against her arm, her head on his shoulder, his hand lightly brushing against her thigh. The weights, oh god, the weights. She couldn't count the amount of times that she'd walked in on Red working out, shirtless and _ripped_ , sweat glistening on his red, rock hard chest. Her heartbeat sped up a little just by thinking about it. And the cats! She remembered when they were just kittens- wait, she didn't remember there being this many before...?

"Oh my god, look at them all- who had babies?"

"Liz," Hellboy jumped up from his bed quickly, nervously, kicking a few of the many discarded, crumpled pieces of paper further away from them, "Liz...there's something I, ah, I need for you to hear, and it's-,"

"Will it take long?" Liz didn't intend to interrupt, but she wanted to save the deeper, more in depth conversations for later on, when she got back, "Because I'm actually going out,"

"Out?" his head snapped up from looking at the floor, confusion and bewilderment evident on his face, " _Out_ out?"

"Yeah..." She took a deep breath- _Red would understand, right?_ "Yeah, for a cup of coffee, but go ahead; read,"

"Are you going alone?" Red ignored her prompts for him to carry on, stepping a little bit closer.

"No, Myers is taking me,"

The pang of disappointment mixed with a disgruntled look of... humiliation (maybe? She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him look like this before, she didn't know how to describe it) on his face made her realise that she probably could've worded that better...

And, as if on cue, John T. Myers walked through the door, a big bowl of chilli in his arms,

"Hey, your chilli's getting cold,"

"Not hungry," Red said through gritted teeth, flopping back onto his bed in defeat.

Liz tried again, "Is there something you would like me to hear?"

"It's just a list, it's not finished," He looked away from her, and she felt awkward and out of place with Hellboy being so suddenly cold with her.

"Okay, well, then, later? See you," and with that, she walked away.

 _He definitely didn't understand..._

 _-_ LXH-

Liz stood waiting for John as he paid for their coffees. She lifted the Polaroid from her neck and took a snap shot of the city scene. She loved her camera. She couldn't remember how they got onto the topic of Hellboy, but John couldn't seem to praise him enough. God, he just wanted to help... it was a shame that Red couldn't see it that way.

"I admire him, he's... he's a force of nature, he's determined, unstoppable..."

"Some people would call that cocky..." Liz fought with herself not to roll her eyes.

"He's just strong,"

"Yeah, that he is," And, though it probably wasn't John's intention for her to be thinking about another guy on their little outing (Liz wasn't she whether or not she wanted to call it a date, even only in her head), she couldn't help but think of Red's huge muscles, or the many times he had saved her life with his inhuman strength. John handed her the coffee, and she held it with both hands.

"My uncle, he used to say, 'we like people for their qualities, but love them for their defects'..."

 _Where was he going with this?_

"He loves you, you know," There was an awkward period of silence, which John used to build up the confidence to ask, "What about you?"

 _Crap._

"I...I don't know. I grew up with him. But now, every time I see him I...I get confused. There's... there's hardly a day that goes by that he's not on my mind..." Liz wasn't sure what compelled her to tell John all this, but, for some reason, she did, "Even now, I feel like he's... here,"

They began walking again, and John offered her milk and sugar, but Liz didn't take milk or sugar.

 _If HB were here, he would've known that already_

Liz shook off that thought, distracting herself by taking a quick picture of Myers. His mouth was cracked open a little, a small puff of air escaping his lips. His brown eyes shone in the flash of the camera, and the tip of his nose was turning red.

He smiled at her and they carried on walking. Myers started to tell her about his uncle, and though she smiled and nodded at the right places, Liz's mind was in a different place.

She couldn't stop thinking about Red. They sat on a bench together, but she still couldn't forget how she wished she was sat with Red instead of John. He placed his arm cautiously around her shoulders, but she couldn't stop thinking about how she wished it was HB's arm that held her close, not John's.

But then the BPRD showed up, shoving information in their faces; something was wrong.

-LXH-

Bruttenholm was dead.

Liz stood on the sidelines, tears cascading down her face. She sobbed loudly, and Myers stood next to her awkwardly, wanting to comfort her but not knowing how.

Suddenly, Hellboy was there, and the swarm of agents parted like the red sea. He collapsed onto his knees, keeling over his father's body in despair, clutching the professor close to his chest.

Liz cried harder.

-LXH-

It rained, heavily, for the first time in months on the day of the funeral. An ocean of black umbrellas pulled apart for the coffin to be loaded into the hearse. Liz stood at the very end of the path, closest to the hearse. Hellboy was nowhere to be seen.

The coffin was lowered into the back of the huge black car, and John placed his hand tentatively on her lower back, but Liz pulled away, walking by herself, with the hearse as it started to move. Only then did she look up to see the lone figure of Red, standing atop the roof. He watched the hearse drive away, soaked to the bone by the steel missiles of rain, his father's old rosary clutched tightly in his left hand. When she looked carefully, Liz could make out a few tears glistening on his red cheeks, mixing with the rain water and dripping down his strong jaw.

She had never wanted to comfort him, be there for him, so badly before, and if Liz had had the chance, she would've climbed up onto that roof and kissed him.

They both needed it.

 **A/N: Third chapter! Yay! This was** ** _meant_** **to go up like two days ago, but school and exams and piano and band are just urgh stress... but here it is! Pretty long, I know, but this might be my favorite so far..**

 **Well, tell me what you think! I'd really love to hear from you guys! Reviews=LOVE XOXOX**


	4. When Abe Was Consulted

Liz sat on a stool next to Abe's medical tank. He was wired up to various machines and floated upside down, fiddling with a Rubik cube.

She couldn't stop thinking about Hellboy.

"He hasn't spoken to anybody in three days. Not a word. He won't eat, won't sleep," Liz poured her heart out to Abe, knowing that he'd understand; he always did. She carried on, "I've... I've never seen him like this. Never,"

That was true; Liz and Red had been through a lot together.

She had seen him cry before, the first time being when one of the cats died. Jasper was an abnormally small tabby with big blue eyes. It was a sad day when Manning's driver ran the poor thing over with a huge Mercedes SUV.

She had seen him hurt all too many times, when they were out on missions together or when he came back from a solo all battered and bruised.

She had seen him laugh, oh boy had she seen him laugh. More often than not was when he was with her, too. She loved his laugh.

She had seen him angry a lot too, of course. He wasn't often angry at her... maybe a few times when she left, but then he was more sad than angry. No, normally when Liz saw Red angry, she was either calming him down or his anger was something _concerning_ her. Maybe it was Manning underestimating her again, or someone hurting her in battle... either way, it _really_ fired up HB.

Liz had seen Red confused, nervous, giddy, lonely, excited, ill, heartbroken... but never like this.

"Should I stay?" Liz looked up to Abe, bewildered, "With him, I mean..."

Blue debated the woman's choices, humming, "Listen, I'm not much of a problem solver; three decades, I've only completed _two sides_ ," He gestured to the Rubik cube in his hand, and Liz smiled a bit.

"But I do know this much: if there's trouble, all us freaks have is each other,"

Liz's smile widened.

"So... take care of the big monkey for me, will you?" Abe's voice held honest, raw sincerity, and Liz knew she had made the right choice coming to ask him about it. He always knew just what to do, what to say.

Abe pressed his hand up against the tank, still upside down, and she tentatively placed hers atop of it, the sheet of glass between them.

-LXH-

Liz walked down the long corridor, the library's huge doors sat at the very end. She walked past Manning's meeting, and she heard John T. Myers get up behind her and walk into the corridor. She wasn't entirely sure what he expected her to do, but she carried on walking. This couldn't wait.

-LXH-

She opened the huge, heavy doors and slid through, careful not to make a sound. HB stood in front of a huge pile of books on his father's desk, pouring over a particular page which, when she got close enough, she saw was entirely about Rasputin. He was shirtless, red chest illuminated by the huge open fire, and hadn't yet noticed her presence. She took a deep breath.

"Hi," Her voice came out all too quiet, too reserved, too scared. It wasn't like her at all, but then, she hadn't been feeling herself lately.

He turned, "Hi,"

She walked closer to him, her eyes trailed on the floor. They hadn't spoken in days, not since the coffee incident.

"I'll come to Moscow," Deep brown eyes met bright gold, "If, you're still going,"

"I am," He said quietly, looking away from her, "But... I have something to say," he kept his gaze on his feet, and said even quieter, even sadder, "I understand what you don't like about me,"

Liz instantly started shaking her head, but he carried on.

"I do," He lifted his eyes back to her, "What I am, makes you feel a little out of place, out there,"

She instantly started protesting, "Red, I don't-,"

"Listen," He stepped forward, to stand right in front of her, "I'm not like Myers. He makes you feel like you belong... which is good, really,"

 _Oh, God. Did he really think that, just because they had coffee together, Liz was interested in Myers?_

 _Yes. Yes he did._

He sighed, and waved a hand in front of his face, his voice dropping to almost a whisper, "I wish I could do something about this. I can't,"

She wanted to stop him, to tell him that he didn't _need_ to anything about it, because she loved him just the way he was but... she was afraid.

"I can promise you two things. One, I'll always look this good,"

Liz smiled and shook her head, looking down to the ground.

"And two," he placed his left hand under her chin and pulled her face gently back up to look her in her eyes again, and they stayed that way for a moment, "I'll never give up on you. Ever,"

Hellboy dropped his hand, back to his side, but his eyes stayed locked with Liz's.

Her voice came out as a whisper, a mouse, and maybe even a little bit afraid of the intensity, but that didn't stop her from telling him, "I like that,"

And maybe, just maybe, if the situation wasn't as dire as it was, she would've grabbed his big, stupid face and kissed him until they were both out of breath and possibly on fire.

 **A/N: Chapter 4 is here! Okay so I really loved writing this one, generally because I love that little scene between HB and Liz so much! The next chapter is probably gonna be pretty long, since I plan on it being the Moscow trip. Oh, I'd also just like to thank my always faithful reviewer, the wonderful Flint And Feather! Your reviews keep me going! And thanks to the Guest, HBlover, who also reviewed (I too understand the want for a third movie, like, now! ;3).**

 **Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the read! Reviews=LOVE!XOXO**


	5. When In A Russian Mausoleum

"Sparky to Big Red, do you read me? Come in."

Liz sat in the passenger seat of the truck, next to Myers. In all honesty, she would much rather be sitting with HB, in the crate labelled 'LIVE CARGO'. But Manning would never allow that; what would even be the point in asking? Besides, John was nice. John was safe. John was normal.

 _But John's not Hellboy_

She pushed the thought from her head, and laughed when Red answered over the walkie-talkie.

 _"Sparky?! Who came up with that, Myers?"_

Liz laughed again, turning to John, who didn't seem to find it as funny. She shook her head again, trying to shake off the laugh from her features, and told him,

"Yeah, we're leaving the main road, so hang on,"

Red mumbled something about puking before both radios buzzed off.

-LXH-

"Forget it! We're never gonna find Rasputin's mausoleum," Tom Manning moaned, following Hellboy through the maze of graves. He liked to think that he was the leader, that he had control ( _technically_ , he _was_ Hellboy's boss), but who was he kidding? Manning had no idea what he was doing, he just couldn't let his team see that- wouldn't wanna lose the respect he was _oh so_ _sure_ he had gained.

"Its, ah, it's practically a city," He carried on, "And it stinks! And it's muddy... I think we, er, we go back, we check into the hotel... we, ah, regroup... after breakfast... I think what we have to do here is we, we make a grid, and we go in by quadrants... maybe satellite photography..." Manning trailed off defiantly, certain that his plan was for the better, but instead, Hellboy patted him on the shoulder, as if he had more of an idea of what to do.

Which he did. But that wasn't the point! Hellboy wasn't in charge! Manning was!

"Let me go ask for directions," The half-demon walked straight past him, disappearing deeper into the labyrinthine graveyard.

Manning watched him leave, brows furrowed, thoroughly confused, "...where, ah, ya' going?"

-LXH-

Liz sat on the stone steps off a tomb, waiting patiently for Red, all the while trying extremely hard _not_ to set Manning on fire.

"This is ridiculous! I run this show, not him," he punctuated each sentence with a wave of his hand, "This guy's nothing but trouble, nothing! Ten minutes, we're outta here,"

Liz turned sharply, "Will you shut up and let him do his thing?"

Manning ignored her, "Anybody got a powerbar?", and Liz sighed.

"Hey... hey, there he is,"

Red emerged from the warren of mausoleums and tombs with the top half of a corpse (complete with a straggly noose hung around its neck) on his back.

"Sixty feet further, comrades!" The corpse spoke with a heavy Russian accent, and Red smirked,

"And three rows in,"

Manning looked terrified, "What the hell's that on his back?"

"This here is Ivan Klimentovich," Red turned to the corpse, "Say 'hi', Ivan,"

Ivan said something in Russian which probably wasn't hi, and Red grinned again, "Gotcha,"

Liz smiled.

-LXH-

"Ivan says there's a whole network of tunnels down here, goes on for miles,"

They had entered one of the largest, grimmest looking mausoleums, Red of course leading the way.

"Stay close, everybody," The path the team had been following lead them to a huge room, with thick cobwebs and some sort of grimy substance leaking up the walls, "We'll be fine as long as we don't separate,"

And, as if on cue, tall spiked fortifications protruded from the ground, cutting her off from most of the team... including Red.

"Hey, Sparky," Hellboy's voice came through her earpiece, and she listened intently, "Tell everyone to turn on their locator belts, anybody sees anything-,"

"I'll say Marco,"

"Polo," He answered automatically, and even though he couldn't see her, she gave a little smile.

"A-are you sure about this?" John T. Myers said from behind her, and she was brought back to the seriousness of the situation.

"On a scale of one to ten: two. Don't worry, Boyscout; she'll take care of ya'. She's a tough one,"

Liz turned to John and patted his chest lightly. The two of them, and another agent (Agent Carlyle, whom she wasn't particularly familiar with), made their way down the dark tunnel ahead.

-LXH-

The path went down and down, deeper and deeper into the ground, and Liz started to get just a little scared. At one point along the line, there was the smallest of lights, and the faintest opera music, but then it was dark again, and silent. Carlyle pulled out a torch, when it got too dark to see.

Liz couldn't stop thinking about Red.

He could be dead, or in danger, and she would have no idea. It terrified her.

Her thoughts were probably what started hers and Myers's conversation about him.

"So he thinks, you, and I... that's why he's mad at me," John shook his head in disbelief, before his voice turned to a more nervous tone, "But it's not true, right?"

"What?"

"Well... that, you know, you feel that way about me?"

Liz stopped abruptly in her tracks, stopping John, who walked behind her.

"You want to know that here? Now?"

"Well... yeah?"

She rolled her eyes, suppressing a groan.

 _Seriously?_

"Red, white, whatever. Guys are all the same," she sighed, picking up her pace once more. Liz didn't really feel like being around John anymore, especially with the idea that he might have a slight... _romantic interest_ in her.

"Hey, wait up!"

-LXH-

And that is how they ended up in what Liz was sure would be the room she would die in; Carlyle silent, John practically begging for her to talk, and Liz in a stormy mood.

"Oh my God..."

It was practically a sewer. Green murky liquid pooled across the floor, oozing down the walls. And populating it was Sammael- well, Sammael ** _s_**. There were loads of them; at least a hundred, maybe more, and around half a thousand eggs.

"Let's back out real slow..." she heard John say from somewhere behind her.

The door slid shut behind them, and the Sammaels began to advance.

"Myers, ready your grenades," Carlyle called from in front of them, the first thing Liz had ever heard him say. Probably would be the last, too.

She grabbed the tiny radio fit under her jacket and said through gritted teeth, "Marco... Marco. Marco. Get your big red butt over here,"

Stone, big plates of stone, began to fall from the ceiling, and Liz was genuinely afraid that Sammael had some more friends come to join the party.

Just when the grenades were ready, one of the monsters lurched forward from the shadows, where it was hidden, and took out Carlyle. John began to shoot at the closest creature, but it was doing nothing.

Liz and John were dead. And she'd never see Red again.

Or, so she thought. Just when the beast that Myers had been shooting desperately at was about to pounce, half of the ceiling fell down, consequently squishing the closest three Sammaels in its wake. And, atop those rocks, was Hellboy.

He immediately threw himself into the fight, killing what seemed like one hell hound a second, even as they were reborn over and over and over again. She lunged towards him, ready to stand and fight by his side in their final hours, but Myers held her back. It was infuriating, and she was hysterical. She didn't even realise she was crying.

"Liz, no!"

"They're gonna kill him! Do something!"

"What! What do you want me to do?!"

She took a deep breath and stared him right in the eyes.

"Hit me,"

"W-what?"

"Hit me! Now!" she practically screamed, and if she hadn't been as persistent, as frantic, as she was, Myers might not have slapped her round the face. It wasn't hard enough to leave a mark, but it stung. And that's all it took.

Her hand glowed with blue flames, and her eyes met John's once more, deadly serious.

"You should be running."

He tripped in the water, but made his way behind a rock, sheltered, and Liz spread her arms, stepping forward. It was a controlled blaze; she had _control_.

They burned, eggs and all, charred black as night. Hellboy lay amidst the destruction, bathed in her fire.

Liz promised herself, that if they ever got out of there alive, she would tell him everything; her feelings, her wants, her _needs_... and she would make sure that he knew she meant it.

 **A/N: Chapter 5! You know what that means; the kiss is up next! I'm kinda contemplating whether to upload chapter 6 now, since I already have it written, or if I should make you lovely readers wait... Anywho, I'm not particularly happy with the ending of this one, but I couldn't figure out any other way** ** _to_** **end it.**

 **You know I love hearing from you! Tell me what you think! Reviews=LOVE!XOXOX**


	6. When Liz Finally Kissed Hellboy

Elizabeth Anne Sherman was dead.

She lay against the stone wall of the tunnel, brown eyes clasped shut, pale skin cold.

"She's got no pulse...she's not breathing," Myers looked up to Hellboy. A lump formed in John's throat, but he swallowed it.

Red crouched down beside the woman that he loved. He wouldn't let her go. Not without a fight. Hell, he was prepared to doom the world for her; he couldn't lose her now.

He took her face in his left hand, whispering in her ear, "Liz... I've been so foolish... so, so foolish... you have to come back, Liz, you have to come back to me,"

Her head drooped to one side, and he felt like he was dying, felt like she was gone. But she wasn't, not yet. Liz withdrew a long breath, her eyelids slowly batting open, deep brown flicking up to meet yellow. He grinned in relief, and she mustered up the strength she still had to return a small smile. She took his left hand in both of hers, and Hellboy pulled her up from the floor, straight into his embrace. Liz clutched tightly to him, feeling incredibly weak and unbelievably strong all at the same time.

"Red," she said, softly, eyes closed, and he pushed his face into her hair, "In the dark... I heard your voice," Liz moved her head, so that her lips were inches away from his own, before whispering "what did you say?"

"I said, 'hey, you on the other side, let her go... because,'" Hellboy's voice cracked, and he pulled his face away from hers, so he could look her in the eyes. His tone dropped to a whisper, and Liz felt her heart practically _melt_ at his sincerity, "'because for her... I'd cross over... and then you'll be sorry,'"

She smiled, small and weak and strong and full of emotion all at once, and the smirk of relief she received was all she needed. Liz pushed forward and kissed Hellboy. She felt her fire consume them, hot blue flames encasing their bodies, but, hey, Red was fireproof. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, her hands moving from his back to his neck. It was everything they had _both_ imagined it to be, and more. Liz knew it was cheesy and mushy and _just_ _not them at all_ , but she didn't care. All she cared about was that they were both alive, and that she was kissing Red. Finally. She forgot about Myers, who stood awkwardly trying not to watch. She forgot about Myers's attraction to her, too.

 _Oh well. He'll get over it._

She forgot about the fact that they were in the middle of an underground tunnel, in a Russian mausoleum. She forgot about how Red was covered in Behemoth innards, and she forgot about how she was completely, utterly naked under the long, cloak-like blanket that Rasputin had wrapped her in. She forgot about the consequences, how there was probably no logical way that her and Red could be something. But nothing they ever did was logical, anyway. They'd find a way.

Besides; this was by far the best kiss of Liz's life.

 **A/N: The End. Well, what did you think? I really hope that you all enjoyed this little fic! Many thanks to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed (especially my loyal reviewer, Flint And Feather, who reviewed every chapter not too long after it was posted). Also, if anyone has any ideas of what I could do next for Red and Liz, please do tell me; I am more than happy to take requests, and am suffering from a severe case of writer's block!**

 **Tell me what you think! Reviews=LOVE!XOXOX**


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